THE JOURNEY BEGINS

    The journey began in Kona, the western part of the island that has experienced more growth especially from mainland people moving their business or retiring to the area. The island of Hawaii is considered a retirement county by the Department of Agriculture. This means that more than fifteen percent of the immigrants are over sixty. Direct flights from Japan and the mainland make it very convenient to visit without a stopover in Honolulu. I was accompanied by Amy Borgstrom who helped to establish contact and arrange for meetings with MIRA participants.

A small group from the Kona team met on the patio of the Kona Beach Hotel, just as a historical re-enactment of the arrival of King Kamehameha began as a prelude to a Luau near the water. When the King was alive, nobody could look at him, while this was a re-enactment for outsiders to watch. In spite of the packaged feeling of some of the cultural events, there is real fusion and infusion of Hawaiian culture in the lives of many local people, no matter what their origins. As the conversation progressed I noticed many people used Hawaiian words effortlessly, while I guessed at their meaning as I took notes.

Some of the first people to become involved heard about the MIRA program from Patrick Watanabe who served as the fiscal agent for the Hawaii cluster. The Kona group began with a few from the Our Kona organization and branched out from there. There were three island-wide organizatonal meetings, and the great distances were a barrier for some. Participants with kids and full-time jobs had a difficult time attending the training sessions. Because the teams had so many people from different races, economic levels, and ages, it was hard for the trainers to meet everyone's needs. The sessions that were mentioned more often by those we met included the Hawaiian language immersion program, Frank Odasz' introduction to new media, digital storytelling, and some of the sessions that introduced people to planning techniques.